The fuzz runs strong in This Summit Fever‘s self-titled debut full-length, released this week through Majestic Mountain Records. The UK-based duo of guitarist/vocalist Andy Blackburn and drummer Jim McSorley make it a party on their first long-player, with eight songs and 29 minutes of crash ‘n’ bash raucous heft, tempered a bit by some mellower stretches, but rich in tone in a way that calls to mind marauder two-pieces like Big Business or Telekinetic Yeti, while remanining distinct in how they manifest their ideas. But for closer “It Haunts Us,” every song on the record is under four minutes long — the finale is a sprawling 4:45 — and with worship-hued fuzz worthy of Valley of the Sun, “Breathe You In” welcomes listeners to the procession with due force and energy, letting “Currents” pick up with an even hairier roll.

Clearly momentum is a factor on a record that’s purposefully comprised of such short, tight cuts, but tempo and modus are both malleable throughout This Summit Fever, and so they make it a ride in addition to being a collection of songs. “Currents” airs out the melody in its fluid verse and “Hooks” introduces a bit more stomp in McSorley‘s drums as the guitar shifts between twist and roll before the wah hits in the solo en route to the big-nod ending and the more immediate into-the-verse beginning of “Superfluous,” the slower presumed capper for side A. Answered back to by “It Haunts Us” later on, which likewise takes it a bit easier on the volume and/or throttle but veers closer to psychedelics, “Superfluous” is perhaps titled in honor of the crescendo following its mellower outset, but don’t take that to imply it’s too much. Overload is the whole idea.

Far back drums lead the way into “Voices” like the old metalcore kids used to do, and what unfolds is a highlight riff and steady movement into the watery verse. There’s a bit of drama in the solo later on, and the vocals take a moodier cast, but it’s still cohesive and any perceived divergences are mitigated by the fact that the songs are so short. It’s one thing into the next into the next; they keep moving, even if sometimes that motion is molasses-paced. “Voices” is hookier than “Hooks,” and it leads into the tempo-kick of “Party to Blame,” which takes a classic-style stoner rock shuffle and turns it atmospheric with spacey vocal reverb, slows down in the chorus, and sets up the mid-tempo immersion of the penultimate “Only Quiteness” with consistent fluidity. The stops in “Only Quiteness” are a distinguishing feature, but again, well in play as they move into “It Haunts Us” with hand percussion and softer electric guitar ambience and a breathy vocal to match.

To their credit, “It Haunts Us” doesn’t at any point burst into full-toned riffing in some grand finale. While it might be rad if they did, of course, the reason it works as-is is that it reaffirms This Summit Fever are in the process of growing and realizing different intentions through their sound. There’s little in their self-titled debut that’s revolutionizing genre conventions, but that’s not the priority here. They’re laying out what they do in terms of songwriting and giving themselves a strong foundation thereof from which to continue to move forward. That momentum? It breaks the fourth wall, because as the band have spent the last five years meting out singles and a couple EPs, they’ve been making their way here, and now that they’ve arrived at the debut LP — a critical moment in the life of any band or artist, obviously — they meet the moment head-on while still keeping one eye on what’s coming next. By the time the record’s done, I can’t help but be curious in that regard too.

The album streams in full below, followed by more info from the PR wire.

Please enjoy:

Andy Blackburn on This Summit Fever:

“Our self titled debut album represents who we are as a band and who I am as a songwriter in 2025. I have no interest in trying to be the next.. whichever band. I want to make our own path and embrace influences from different genres. For me, creating music has to come from the heart. There HAS to be emotion, be that anger, sadness, regret, fear or happiness. It’s a way to express difficult feelings about life’s challenges in a positive way. If someone else can relate, then that’s a huge bonus.”

This Summit Fever, the riff-worshipping fuzz rock duo, is set to unleash their self-titled debut album on April 4, 2025, via Majestic Mountain Records. With a sound that sits comfortably between Fu Manchu, The Melvins, and Queens of the Stone Age, the UK-based duo delivers a raw, high-energy mix of fuzz-drenched riffs and thunderous grooves, proving that two people can make a mountain-sized sound.

Originally formed as a lockdown project by guitarist/vocalist Andy Blackburn, the band quickly gained momentum when longtime friend and drummer Jim McSorley joined. What started as home-recorded demos soon evolved into a fully realized, high-impact fuzz rock machine, fueled by the duo’s love for massive riffs and powerful rhythms.

Recorded with a self-imposed limitation mantra, This Summit Fever strips away excess production, focusing instead on authentic, hard-hitting songwriting.

“As a songwriter, I’ve come to embrace our limitations as a duo. It forces us to be more creative with riffs, melodies, and arrangements. We decluttered the production, focusing only on what the songs truly needed.” – Andy Blackburn

The album dives into the complexities of the human condition, exploring personal struggles, resilience, and emotional turmoil, all wrapped in thick walls of fuzz, pounding drums, and hypnotic grooves.

This Summit Fever has built a reputation for their ferocious live performances, proving that what they lack in numbers, they make up for in sheer sonic force.

THIS SUMMIT FEVER – 2025 TOUR DATES
Friday, April 11 – Wolverhampton, Dive (Album Launch)
Saturday, April 12 – Bournemouth, Dorset Doomsday
Wednesday, April 16 – Manchester, Night and Day (Headline Show)
May 2-4 – Shrewsbury, Loopfest
Sunday, May 18 – London, Desertfest
Friday, June 20 – London, The Dev (Headline Show)
Saturday, September 13 – London, The Black Heart

This Summit Fever’s Linktr.ee

This Summit Fever on Instagram

This Summit Fever on Bandcamp

Majestic Mountain Records store

Majestic Mountain Records on Instagram

Majestic Mountain Records on Facebook

Tags: Majestic Mountain Records, self-titled, This Summit Fever, This Summit Fever Self-titled, UK

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 3rd, 2025 at 7:07 am and is filed under audiObelisk, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.